recent reads

Whew! I've been on a reading binge lately! I just *adore* the library. I'm still in the process of "Good in Bed", but I hope to have that finished pretty soon. I'm on the wait list for the sequil "Certain Girls" and I can't wait!

Green cleaning - take 1

I began researching "green" cleaning methods earlier this week after becoming more aware of the harm that the chemicals in common household cleaners can cause not only the environment, but my family. With Drew at a stage where he puts EVERYTHING in his mouth, I decided that I should better monitor what I'm putting on the surfaces he most comes in contact with.

I'm still somewhat skeptical of the so-called "green" products that stores have on their shelves now. It's becoming so cool to be green, that I'm afraid some manufactures may be using the timing to their marketing advantage. With that being said, I chose to research some recipes for household cleaning using common products that are non-toxic. Today's adventure began with white vinegar, water and baking soda.

I came across several ways that vinegar can be used (I have used vinegar in my prior cleaning experiences, but just not to this extent). I tackled the appliances in my kitchen this morning with "great success" (said in my best Borat voice). I started with my caked-up-funkified can opener. I took the blade apparatus off and soaked it in straight vinegar for about 10 minutes, rinsed it with water, and VOILA...clean! I cleaned the base of the can opener with a mixture of 1 part water to 1 part vinegar that I mixed in a spray bottle. This was e-a-s-y! I used less elbow grease than I normally do with my other cleaners.

I then cleaned out my washing machine (nasty, but easily done), coffee maker and toaster oven. For the toaster oven, I mixed baking soda and water in a small bowl until it was pasty and scrubbed the pan with a sponge. It rinsed off so well. No grit, no grime.

You know those stubborn lime stains around your kitchen faucet? Soak a paper towel with straight vinegar and wrap it around your faucet. Let it soak there for a few minutes and wipe the scum away!

I also found a tip for cleaning the microwave. Now, my microwave was mostly clean from a Spaghetti-O mishap yesterday at lunch, so this didn't get fully put to the test. Mix 1 cup warm water with 1 tablespoon vinegar and two drops of dish liquid. Heat in microwave for 3-4 minutes and let stand for 15 minutes. Wipe down with a damp cloth.

This entire experiment cost me around $3. I got a gallon of vinegar for $1.48, a small box of baking soda for $0.38 and two spray bottles for $0.96 each. I'm looking forward to playing a little more with lemon juice and some essential oils!

Just a swingin'

The baby swing has by far been our best purchase in awhile. Drew absolutely loves to swing and so does Bryce. I guess that's about the only thing these two yahoos have in common. We've added a mandatory "swing session" to our daily routine :)

Drew @ 7 Months!!!

My big guy is still growing so fast! He's sooo close to crawling now that I expect he will be all over the house by the end of the month. He's such a social baby, which works out in my favor. He loves to go. We can be anywhere. The more people that are around, the more he loves it. Chris got a swing for him yesterday and put it on the swingset and he loved it. I'll have to get some pictures of that today!

The Gift of Kindness

I get daily devotionals e-mailed to me and this one really stood out so I thought I would share :)


Suggested Bible Reading

So then, putting away falsehood, let all of us speak the truth to our neighbors, for we are members of one another. Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not make room for the devil. Thieves must give up stealing; rather let them labor and work honestly with their own hands, so as to have something to share with the needy. Let no evil talk come out of your mouths, but only what is useful for building up, as there is need, so that your words may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with which you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption. Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you. Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

-Ephesians 4:25 - 5:2 (NRSV)


Today's Scripture

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.

-Ephesians 4:32 (NRSV)


AFTER placing several items in the grocery cart, I headed for the check-out line. Since several customers were in front of me, I found myself people-watching. Soon I noticed an irritated man in the next line. He was waiting behind a young woman with a fussy child. She was beginning to count change, and she looked worried. "Don't tell me you don't even have enough for the groceries!" the man said loudly. "How can you come in here without money?"

The young mother was $20 short when all her change was counted. What the woman had was food for a meal, food for the child, and diapers. She had no frills that I could see. I found myself passing a $20 bill to the cashier. The young mother was embarrassed but looked genuinely grateful.

As I walked out of the store, the irate man came past me and said, "You know she probably does this all the time. You've just been taken."

My immediate response was, "God knows my heart. I am not worried." Despite the feeling that I had no money to spare, I had given freely. And I realized God had given me this opportunity to test my faith.

Barbara A. Smith (Ohio, U.S.A.)

Can I get a do-over?

I need to rewind and start my morning off on another foot. If you don't want to hear a down and depressing story, then go back now. I got paged for work at 5:40 this morning. It was Labor and Delivery. They don't play, so when they call you know it's usually an emergency. When I called them they let me know they couldn't find heart-tones on a baby. This happens alot on patients that have a larger body habitus than their equipment can penetrate, so I just figured it would be a quick scan to calm their worries.

Man, I was wrong. I got there and received the story from the nurse. This girl had shown up early this morning to be induced. Totally normal pregnancy up to this point. After the nurse told me she was 99% sure this baby had passed, I asked her to come in the room with me while I scanned to run interference. The expression on my face can sometimes give way to what I'm seeing on the screen, and I didn't want to be the one to break it to her. The nurse was really helping to distract her while I did the ultrasound, so the "Is everything okay?" question didn't get asked to me.

I feel so horrible and sick. I'm imagining the excitement and anticipation they had when they arrived at the hospital this morning, and the extreme reverse of emotion they are probably going through right now. She talked about what she was going to name her baby, how the nursery was decorated and how all of the family was in town for his birth. Please say a prayer for this family.

Lessons from a Mom

Subject: 15-step program for Parenthood

Thinking of Having Kids? Do this 15 step program first!

Lesson 1
1. Go to the grocery store.
2. Arrange to have your salary paid directly to their head office.
3. Go home.
4. Pick up the paper.
5. Read it for the last time.

Lesson 2
Before you finally go ahead and have children, find a couple who alreadyare parents and berate them about their...
1. Methods of discipline.
2. Lack of patience.
3. Appallingly low tolerance levels.
4. Allowing their children to run wild.
5. Suggest ways in which they might improve their child's breastfeeding, sleep habits, toilet training, table manners, and overall behavior.
Enjoy it because it will be the last time in your life you will have all the answers.

Lesson 3
A really good way to discover how the nights might feel...
1. Get home from work and immediately begin walking around the living room from 5PM to 10PM carrying a wet bag weighing approximately 8-12 pounds, with a radio turned to static (or some other obnoxious sound) playing loudly.
(Eat cold food with one hand for dinner) 2. At 10PM, put the bag gently down, set the alarm for midnight, and go to sleep.
3. Get up at 12 and walk around the living room again, with the bag, until 1AM.
4. Set the alarm for 3AM.
5. As you can't get back to sleep, get up at 2AM and make a drink and watch an infomercial.
6. Go to bed at 2:45AM.
7. Get up at 3AM when the alarm goes off.
8. Sing songs quietly in the dark until 4AM.
9. Get up. Make breakfast. Get ready for work and go to work (work hard and be productive)
Repeat steps 1-9 each night. Keep this up for 3-5 years. Look cheerful and together.

Lesson 4
Can you stand the mess children make? To find out...
1. Smear peanut butter onto the sofa and jam onto the curtains.
2. Hide a piece of raw chicken behind the stereo and leave it there all summer.
3. Stick your fingers in the flower bed.
4. Then rub them on the clean walls.
5. Take your favorite book, photo album, etc. Wreck it.
6. Spill milk on your new pillows. Cover the stains with crayons. How does that look?

Lesson 5
Dressing small children is not as easy as it seems.
1. Buy an octopus and a small bag made out of loose mesh.
2. Attempt to put the octopus into the bag so that none of the arms hang out.
Time allowed for this - all morning.

Lesson 6
1. Take an egg carton. Using a pair of scissors and a jar of paint, turn it into an alligator.
2. Now take the tube from a roll of toilet paper. Using only Scotch tape and a piece of aluminum foil, turn it into an attractive Christmas candle .
3. Last, take a milk carton, a ping-pong ball, and an empty packet of Cocoa Puffs. Make an exact replica of the Eiffel Tower .

Lesson 7
Forget the BMW and buy a mini-van. And don't think that you can leave it out in the driveway spotless and shining. Family cars don't look like that.
1. Buy a chocolate ice cream cone and put it in the glove compartment. Leave it there.
2. Get a dime. Stick it in the CD player.
3. Take a family size package of chocolate cookies. Mash them into the back seat. Sprinkle cheerios all over the floor, then smash them with your foot.
4. Run a garden rake along both sides of the car.

Lesson 8
1. Get ready to go out.
2. Sit on the floor of your bathroom reading picture books for half an hour.
3. Go out the front door.
4. Come in again. Go out.
5. Come back in.
6. Go out again.
7. Walk down the front path.
8. Walk back up it.
9. Walk down it again.
10. Walk very slowly down the sidewalk for five minutes.
11. Stop, inspect minutely, and ask at least 6 questions about every cigarette butt, piece of used chewing gum, dirty tissue, and dead insect along the way.
12. Retrace your steps.
13. Scream that you have had as much as you can stand until the neighbors come out and stare at you.
14. Give up and go back into the house.
You are now just about ready to try taking a small child for a walk.

Lesson 9
Repeat everything you have learned at least (if not more than) five times.

Lesson 10
Go to the local grocery store. Take with you the closest thing you can find to a pre-school child. (A full-grown goat is an excellent choice). If you intend to have more than one child, then definitely take more than one goat. Buy your week's groceries without letting the goats out of your sight. Pay for everything the goat eats or destroys. Until you can easily accomplish this, do not even contemplate having children.

Lesson 11
1. Hollow out a melon.
2. Make a small hole in the side.
3. Suspend it from the ceiling and swing it from side to side.
4. Now get a bowl of soggy Cheerios and attempt to spoon them into the swaying melon by pretending to be an airplane.
5. Continue until half the Cheerios are gone.
6. Tip half into your lap. The other half, just throw up in the air.
You are now ready to feed a nine- month-old baby.

Lesson 12
Learn the names of every character from Sesame Street , Barney, Disney, the Teletubbies, and Pokemon. Watch nothing else on TV but PBS, the Disney channel or Noggin for at least five years. (I know, you're thinking What's 'Noggin'?) Exactly the point.

Lesson 13
Move to the tropics. Find or make a compost pile. Dig down about halfway and stick your nose in it. Do this 3-5 times a day for at least two years.

Lesson 14
Make a recording of Fran Drescher saying 'mommy' repeatedly. (Important: no more than a four second delay between each 'mommy'; occasional crescendo to the level of a supersonic jet is required). Play this tape in your car everywhere you go for the next four years. You are now ready to take a long trip with a toddler.

Lesson 15
Start talking to an adult of your choice. Have someone else continually tug on your skirt hem, shirt- sleeve, or elbow while playing the
'mommy' tape made from Lesson 14 above. You are now ready to have a conversation with an adult while there is a child in the room.


This is all very tongue in cheek; anyone who is parent will say 'it's all worth it!' Share it with your friends, both those who do and don't have kids. I guarantee they'll get a chuckle out of it. Remember, a sense of humor is one of the most important things you'll need when you become a parent!

bring.it.on

Bring on the warm weather! After yesterday, I officially diagnosed myself with "seasonal depression". The winter months have been miserable for me. We've stayed inside and it's gotten SO old! I was cured when the temperature reached 75 degrees. Move over couch-potato-cabin-fever Monica. I finally found my energy supply! We played outside a majority of the day (which by the way REAllY helps keep the inside of the house clean ;)). I pulled all the weeds that had grown up and washed the car. This was all in addition to pushing Bryce on his swing, blowing bubbles and throwing the football.

What can I say?

I have these thoughts during the day about this blog. Something will happen and I'll think, "I should blog about that!". Sometimes when I'm driving I'll even have it mapped out in my head how I want it to sound. I wonder if anyone else does this? Now that I acutally have a chance to sit down and blog, nothing comes to mind. Weird huh?

So, I can touch on the oh-so-dull details of what I've been up to lately. I finished Jodi Picoult's book "Ninteen Minutes", and I was very pleased with it. I really got sucked into this one. I wasn't as emotionally involved as I was with "My Sister's Keeper", but this book made me think, and worry about my kids. It's such a real issue that can, and has happened at school. I started (and am almost finished with) Kim Edwards "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". I'm 3/4 of the way through it and it's finally getting to the good stuff. It is about a doctor that is forced to deliver his own children due to a snow storm in Kentucky. He nor his wife realized that they were having twins (born in 1964). The baby girl was born with Down's syndrome. He sent the assisting nurse to leave the baby at an institution and told his wife that their daughter had died at birth (she was knocked out with gas during the delivery). The nurse chose to keep the baby after seeing the conditions of the institution. The book sofar has basically followed their lives to a point where the doctor/dad "David" can't live with his guilt and the lies he's told. I can't wait to find out if he actually meets his daughter and how/when he tells his wife. I picked up Carole Matthews "Chocolate Lovers Club" at the library yesterday, so that will be my next read. How in the heck did I not figure out the whole library thing before now?!?! It is awesome! I go online, place a book on hold, they e-mail me when the book is ready to be picked up and voila! It's free! The hard part is trying to read the book in two weeks. Anyway, if you're a reader...check it out!